TV Review: So You Think You Can Dance, Week One Recap

FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" is easily one of my favorite shows. And really the only reality competition show on television that exposes it's viewers to things they wouldn't normally see. In season's past we've seen dance styles as diverse as African Jazz, Bollywood, Samba, even Russian Folk Dancing and you really won't see any of those styles anywhere else on television. That's why I love the show, and even with the styles that we have seen, the choreographers the show employs are at the top of their game when it comes to creativity. After the auditions, this past Wednesday the choreographers were back on their game for the first performance show of the season. Much like past season openers, there are still some dancers that aren't quite at the star level yet and are probably just in awe that they made the show, but there were some truly great performances and at least one future classic.
Here is my opinion on who did the best, and later will talk about the "elimination" this week and my thoughts on it.

the GREAT!!

1. Melanie Marko



This Travis Wall routine is not only one of HIS best pieces ever, but it's one of the greatest the show has ever seen. The concept is beautiful on it's own, two statues who are trying to combine and become one statue, and the music ("Turn to Stone" by Ingrid Michaelson) is perfectly fitting.  It's creative, beautiful, emotional and a fine example of why this show is so groundbreaking. Before this show started in 2005, I honestly didn't feel like Dance could illicit real emotions from the viewer and this, like past routines, has blown that idea out of my mind. And while the storyline and choreography were great, lesser dancers could have ruined this and taken all the emotion and realness out of it. Thankfully, Travis got two great dancers on this one. Melanie has been one of my favorites since her first audition, and this is a great example of why. Her control over the moves was amazing, and Marko more than held his own. They both really got the story and embodied everything they needed to, their technique was flawless and you could freeze-frame most of the moments of this routine and it would make for beautiful and classic statues. They also as a team brought the appropriate amount of emotion to make everybody feel what they would have felt if they were really in that situation. Nigel said this should be the first Emmy nomination of the season, and he's right it would truly deserve it because it's one of those perfect moments in Dance where just everything falls into place perfectly.

the REALLY GOOD.

2. Jordan Tadd
3. Sasha Alexander
4. Missy Wadi







These three routines were fantastic in so many ways. Energy, Emotion, Creativity. They only lack a sense of uniqueness because while they were some of the best of the night, they weren't exactly breaking new ground. Jordan and Tadd completely attacked African Jazz in this Sean Cheesman routine, but it's not the best routine in that genre that we've seen. Same with Sasha and Alexander on their Contemporary Sonya Tayeh routine where Sasha was the star with her intensity and power, but it still wasn't the best. Missy and Wadi's routine was a bit more original, using Wadi's unique dancing talent, but it really reminded me of a routine from Season 5 performed by Kayla and Maksim.

the GOOD

5. Iveta Nick
6. Miranda Robert

These two routines were fun fun fun, but nothing in the choreography or the dancers technique really screamed fantastic or stand out. For one, Iveta (as it was noted by Mary) is the World Champion in her genre and has been doing Quickstep since she was 7 years old. Kind of an unfair advantage if you ask me, but she was destined to pull her genre out of the hat at least one time this season so might as well get it over with. The routine overall was really cute, and Nick, a tap dancer, did his part even if he sometimes seemed overly conscious of the steps. And Robert, the annoying "woooo" guy, was perfectly matched in this Jason Gilkison routine. His upbeat and goofy personality was perfect for this Jive number, and though he wasn't technically the best he out shined his partner Miranda who did respectable but just didn't match Robert's personality which was radiating and saved the whole performance.

the MEH.

7. Ryan Ricky
8. Ashley Chris
9. Caitlynn Robert
10. Jess Clarice

The rest of the routines are not terrible, nobody really messed up enough this season to ruin any of the routines, but this bunch were just a little unimpressive. Ryan and Ricky's Lyrical Hip Hop choreographed by douchebag Christopher Scott. This is one of those cases where the dancers were better than the routine, as both Ryan and Ricky gave their all (and went outside their comfort zone a little) and both had some great moments, but the choreography was just dull and it actually reminded me of the famous "Bleeding Love" routine from Season 5. Chris "Douchebag" Scott also choreographed another so-so Hip Hop routine for Ashly and b-boy Chris, Chris to me was better because he was more effortless and smooth while Ashly brought the personality but was a little too technical with her steps. Caitlynn's partner Mitchell was out due to an injury so she got the chance to dance with last seasons Robert on a Sonya Tayeh routine, which was probably one of my least favorites from Sonya, very dull in comparison to her best stuff. Finally Jess, the Broadway guy, pulled Broadway with his partner Clarice. It was a fun routine, but not fun enough in my opinion. Clarice was really pretty and graceful, while Jess didn't seem to be at 100% though he was praised by the judges.

Once the credits rolled, Thursday was a bit anti-climactic because nobody went home. Seemed like a bit of planning on the producers part, but Nigel made it seem like there was some big mix up with the judges (he actually even blamed guest judge Megan Mulally of "Karen" fame), he made Mitchell and Robert dance for their lives twice. Than he lined everyone in the Bottom up, praised each one, and than said nobody was going home. Next week though two couples will be going home, so maybe it was a way for the show to get the dancers to amp their game up.

I want to add, Sonya Tayeh's group routine that opened up Thursday's show was A-MA-ZING!! It was so fierce and powerful and intense. I've loved pretty much all of her group routines in the past and this one is up there with my all time favorites, just perfection when it comes to the moves and also the look and the song choice.



So until next week, Enjoy the clips.(Thank you to SYTYCDFanS08V2 biaJME and rafahenrique of Youtube for uploading the clips)
I love comments on this blog.

Album Review: tUnE-yArDs

Hipster RunOff has become a go-to site for me to find new music and I saw a mention of Merrill Garbus, better known under the moniker tUnE-YaRdS (annoying spelling right?), a one woman band whose sophomore album "w h o k i l l" is easily one of the freshest and most unique outings of the year.

The album has such an eclectic mix of genres and she herself brings major diversity vocally going from a really aggressive spoken word vibe to a soft almost jazzy tone (and this is sometimes within the same song). "w h o k i l l" is the most adventurous and fearless album I've heard maybe since Dirty Projectors "Bitte Orca" which was so far outside the box but still very catchy. tUnE-YaRdS are totally different from that group but in the same ways her approach works on so many different levels.

The albums first single, and my first introduction to this talent, "Bizness" goes from a soft electronica track with a replayed vocal sample in the beginning to a joyous and highly energetic jam session towards the end. And this is the best representation of what the album holds in store for the listeners, an album where each individual song is it's own musical movement. Garbus really throws everything into the pot from Folk, Salsa, R&B, Rock and Hip Hop. At times she recalls the aggressive spoken word of a PJ Harvey over beats likened to (believe it or not) A Tribe Called Quest (try "Es-So") , and than on other tracks she's flowing softly about love-making over something Erykah Badu or Jill Scott might attack. With all the highs and lows of each track, and the overall diversity of the album you'd think it would be too much... and at times it is, but the album of the whole is a very pleasant listen because she's very skilled at balancing out all of her influences. "w h o k i l l" is a great showcase for a very talented artist, and though there's not much here that would typically be considered commercial, she's the type of artist people do need to know about.

4.5 of 5
Best: Powa, Gangsta, Riotriot

Album Review: Lady GaGa

Lady GaGa's rise from the dance clubs to world domination didn't take too long, less than 4 years actually. For her arty and controversial performances, and her headline grabbing outfits she's definitely become a household name. And now with 5 Grammys for her first two albums and countless Top 10 Hit singles she's a force in the industry as well. The only thing lacking in GaGa's arsenal thus far has been, to put it simply, good songs. Her 8-track EP "The Fame Monster" showed promise, but her full length debut album was almost all pure Pop/Dance fluff with pretty tepid dance beats and insanely stupid lyrics. On her latest sales-smashing release "Born This Way", GaGa manages to show sneak peeks of the artist she is while not totally shedding the commercial sound that made her who she is. Truth be told, the production on the album (taken on mostly by Fernando Garibay) is the best element by being four to the floor club fodder yet still managing to be a little more dark. The production highlight is "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)" a dance song on ADD that refuses to stay put with it's constantly changing drum beats and off kilter tempo changes. This weird, almost Industrial meets House sound is present throughout most of the tracks so the albums sound is something a little familiar but also something not typical on Pop releases like this.

And here's where GaGa shows her greatness, by not getting drowned out by all the goings on within each track. Whether she's paying homage to herself with her stretched and exagerrated vocals on "Judas" (vocally a "Bad Romance" part two), playfully experimenting with German on "Scheiße", or emulating 90's Power balladeering over dance beats on the title track or "Edge of Glory", she always makes herself the main event somehow. Her vocal abilities really shine through on this album, not only that she can belt like some of the greats but that on nearly every song she attacks the vocals in a completely different way. By the time you get to her almost country/western ode "Yoü and I" you can fully appreciate her diverse talents. Even lyrically she brings something different to the table this time, by making themes and concepts a little more abstract yet still making the songs fun and catchy. All in all the album is a win and a nice step into a more artistic direction for GaGa, seems her music is finally starting to match up with her unique and creative personality which is a great thing. She's not fully escaping her Pop chains, but she's definitley stepping out and delivering something on this album you wouldn't hear from any of her competitors.

4 of 5
Best: Electric Chapel, You and I, Marry The Night

Album Review: Quick Updates, James Blake and Toro Y Moi... The Growers

Sorry for all these breaks, you know sometimes just LIFE gets in the way (life and laziness LOL!!) but I have a to-do list of a couple albums I need to get through so this will be the first of a few new blog posts so get ready! This first post will be about The Growers, two albums that didn't immediately blow me away but have since shown their worth. 

Two Indie favorites of this year James Blake and Toro Y Moi have been sitting in my iTunes for a few months, and while initially I had lukewarm feelings about both albums they have really grown on me and showed that subtlety can be a stand out.

Toro Y Moi's second album "Underneath The Pine"

is a really relaxing chill album with heavy disco, R&B and funk inspiration. The albums first single "Still Sound" is the best example for his sound, a late 70's track that Chaka Khan could have easily wailed over, while "New Beat" could have been an Evelyn "Champagne" King disco stomper. The album isn't devoted to disco though, Toro manages to merge the lush instrumentation of the 70's with the chilled out electronic sound of today and with great effect especially on the album closer "Elise". The problem with the album however is Toro's vocal chops, when you hear these songs that could easily be taken on by powerhouse singers it sounds a little off when he comes on the tracks with his very limited vocal ability. In fact some of the better tracks on the album have little to no vocals, leaving the listener to wonder how much more effective the album would have been as a straight instrumental album.  The vocals are definitely in the vain of the Indie scene he is a part of  where they seem to have no care about things like tone and pitch when singing. And as mentioned before this isn't just a typical 70's throwback album so the off-kilter overall production makes sense after a few listens. All in all the album is a great groovy listen and shows promise, if not for his singing definitley for his production which would match nicely with some of the top artists of the day (Christina Aguilera needs to swoop him up quick, his sound and her voice would match up perfectly).

3 of 5
Best: Still Sound, New Beat, Elise

James Blake's self titled debut came earlier this year, and he's almost the opposite of Toro Y Moi. Blake possesses a really strong, husky and soulful voice but on this album he uses it on top of some very low-key and chilled electronic tracks. Critics have considered him a Dubstep artist which confused me as nothing on this album is traditionally Dubstep, maybe more Dub than  Step since most of the album is very moody and calm with electro-effects playing subtly in the background. Rarely ever using more than 10 words for a full song, the songs swell and build up to pretty amazing climaxes. Upon first listen, the songs might seem dull or too weird, but on repeated listens you can appreciate the nuances Blake uses as a producer. "I Never Learnt To Share" and "I Mind" are great examples, very simple stuff but with the correct headphones or speaker system you can feel the love and patience he put into every electro-tweek and keyboard sequence. And even with a majority of the tracks being very ambient and experimental, there are a few tracks that could actually work on radio like first single "Limit To Your Love" and "The Wilhelm Scream" which are both a lot less stark than the rest of the album and show off both his voice and his production skills.

4 of 5
Best: The Wilhelm Scream, I Never Learnt To Share, Limit To Your Love

Album Review: Foo Fighters

I might be at a slight disadvantage in trying to review Foo Fighters' latest album "Wasting Light", the reason being I've just been a casual fan of the group over the years, and I only heard their breakthrough 1997 album "Colour & The Shape" within the past few weeks. The Grohl-fronted band has had quite a long history of classic songs, and in the ever changing world of Rock they've been the most consistent with delivering that harder edged sound.

Even though I may not know all the musical history behind the band, upon first listen I can say that their seventh album is easily one of the best of the year so far, a near flawless outing. It's the kind of Rock album that is diverse, mature and what some might call "all killer and no filler". The group goes from re-creating the sounds of their biggest musical successes of the past, to doing things that are totally new and fresh, from straining their vocal chords on hyped up rock cuts and softening it up on more acoustic leaning tracks. Still on the whole the album has a unified sound, and never tries too hard to be anything outside of who they are as a group. The album opens with a great one-two punch, "Bridges Burning" calls to mind the greatness of the Foo's past while first single "Rope" feels like a completely new and fresh sound for the group. Thankfully the energy never really dies on this album, with stadium sized anthems like "Matter of Time" "Back and Forth" and one of the easy stand outs "Arlandria". There are times when it feels like they are going to soften their sound, the intros to "These Days" (simple but really powerful lyrics here) and another stellar stand out "I Should Have Known" start with an acoustic subdued feel but end up amping it way up. The album isn't without it's minor faults though, "White Limo" is a little too loud for me. "Dear Rosemary" and "Miss the Misery" lack a little something that the other tracks have, but  even than they are more than bearable to listen to. On the whole the album is pretty fantastic, the songs stay true to the bands Rock roots but also manage to be very catchy and memorable. Now will any of these songs be classics like "Everlong" or "Best of You"? Probably not (maybe "Rope"), but that doesn't seem to be their purpose on this outing. All in all it's just a fantastic Rock album, the kind that hasn't been heard in a long time. Rating: 4.5 of 5 Best: Arlandria, Rope, I Should Have Known

Movie/Album Review: Daft Punk Tron Legacy

As a huge fan of Electronica Kings Daft Punk, ofcourse I purchased their soundtrack to Disney's "Tron: Legacy" when it was released last November. My reaction was so lukewarm however I sort of put the album aside until I saw the movie, thinking it might not be fair to judge the soundtrack alone and that I may end up enjoying the music more if I had the visual counterpart. So when the film was released to DVD and Blu Ray this past Tuesday I jumped on it.

As for the album, the film didn't really help. While I was watching the film, the soundtrack was a little underwhelming even than. Most of the times, the backing soundtrack felt a little like generic "futuristic" elevator music and not the unique, infectious Daft Punk sound I was expecting. There's a scene early on where Sam Flynn is being chased by the police and the underlying score ("The Son of Flynn") is just a simple loop of a keyboard sequence and it never elevated or went anywhere although you'd think they'd match up the music to the action in the scene. And the sort of light electronic sounds heard on one scene sound way too similar to most of the other tracks on this soundtrack. There's a bit of a Daft stamp on them, but almost in the way of some lesser producer stealing their sound and producing really washed out and boring tracks instead. And there are even times when it doesn't sound like Daft Punk at all, the scene where Quorra is introduced ("Outlands") and she's driving Sam into his fathers secret lair sounds way too much like the Danny Elfman scoring in a similar scene in 1989's "Batman". For the most part, Daft's score is just too pedestrian and simple. It almost feels like they felt the pressure of doing a big Hollywood score and were scared to truly be themselves, which is a shame. Their cameo in the movie was cute though, and gave us the best moments from the score, the first single "Derezzed" and "End of the Line". Unfortunately, even after viewing the film, this outing was a big disappointment and I just can't wait for their next Real Daft album.

Rating: 2 of 5
Best: Derezzed, End of Line, Fall

The movie, surprisingly enough, was actually much better than expected. Even though I'm a child of the 80's I'd never seen the original "Tron" just heard of it (and seen film stills from it), but you imagine there was a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo but for all real purposes it was just a visual movie you'd watch for the special effects. In that way, "Tron: Legacy" is a success because it's truly one of the movies you can't take your eyes off. And there is a lot of dialogue about grid's and power sources and disks and a host of things viewers really don't need to know that much about, but the main focus is the visual aspect. The pretty amazing CGI and overall design of the computer world that Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) finds himself in after locating the office of his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) who has been missing in the real world for over 15 years. Sam, as much of a computer genius as his father who created a Microsoft-like empire in the 1980's (after the first "Tron" film), finds himself in the Grid and is immediately set-up to participate in 'Games', which is punishment for bad 'programs'. The 'Games' portion is probably the best part of the movie, he goes through a series of 'Air Hockey'-like games before he is set up for the Bike Race which takes the cake visually. It takes what has become classic from the first film and elevates it for the new generation and it is both aesthetically stunning and heart pounding, edge of your seat excitement. Sam is finally reunited with his father, (not Clu, the grid clone of his father) and the rest of the movie is their plan to escape the grid and get back to the real world.
Again there is alot of unnecessary chatter here, and the script generously takes bits from "The Matrix" and "Inception" to try to prevent plot holes, but it's all okay because the film is an exciting one which can be followed with the minimal amount of information about the Flynn's.
This is nowhere near a Great movie, don't get me wrong, but pretty much everything from the acting to the writing were on par and nothing to complain about. The one major complaint, and maybe just because it looked so weird, was the CGI-fication of Jeff Bridges for his scenes as the younger father and for Clu. The animators did a really good job for the most part, but they really haven't perfected doing a human in CGI and making him look 100% real. Which I suppose actors are happy about.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

Album Review: Jennifer Hudson

Standards were set sky high with Jennifer Hudson's self titled debut album released in 2008. And though the album was decent, it felt underwhelming somehow. It just didn't manage to stand above the other R&B offerings out at the time, we all knew she could sing but there wasn't much personality to go along with it.

With her recently released follow up "I Remember Me", she seems to bring more confidence and character to her voice and it works out well. Along with that, the album offers a more diverse range of sounds to show off her versatility. To be honest it's not all great, some of the material is just too common and similar to other R&B acts, but there's enough here to show some major growth and Hudson comes off as a totally different singer and artist than on the last album.
The album opener, a nice bouncy Urban track "No One Gonna Love You" has her in a really confident and sassy stance and breezing through the song with major vocal strength with the ease of a real professional. As does the albums first single "Where You At", whose repetitive hook would have resulted in disaster if it was any other singer however Jennifer makes it work. The albums best tracks takes Hudson in a 70's 80's Soul and Funk direction which she performs with the appropriate attitude and grit. The Alicia Keys penned "Angel" has Jennifer channeling divas like Chaka Khan and Teena Marie but still putting her own stamp on the sound. "Everybody Needs Love", which stands out primarily because of it's unique fresh and new production (a mix of 90's House specifically the Dub sound, and smooth R&B) is elevated by her commitment to the sound. This and "Don't Look Down" are the Dance numbers her debut was missing, and these are destined to be remixed into thumping House anthems for the Club crowd.
And even the songs that aren't total winners are still passable and possible growers like the anthemic "I Got This" and the title track, which is slightly predictable in lyric but given a different light thanks to her voice. "Gone" suffers from a terrible boring hook, but you have to appreciate her taking a risk on a pop/rock song that you'd imagine a Kelly Clarkson singing. The rest of the album is just average, while the closer "Believe" is just stunningly beautiful lyrically and vocally. The album may not be one of the stand out R&B albums to be released but it shows even more promise and gives listeners even more reason to celebrate her immense talents. While her first album may have left people wanting more, this album shows that she is indeed a true vocal artist -- and that there's no reason why she won't be around for a long time.

Rating: 3 of 5
Best: Angel, No One Gonna Love You, Everybody Needs Love

Album Review: The Strokes

One of my most anticipated releases of the past few years finally hits stores today, The Strokes' 4th album "Angles". The magic of the Strokes is really hard to put in words, their main draw is the fact that they make un-pretentious Rock music that's just fun. They don't try to pad their lyrics with deeper meanings, and they don't try to stretch their sound in directions they aren't comfortable with. They just do what they know they are good at, which delivers some classic material. This album pretty much delivers the same, but not quite in the way one would expect. For the most part "Angles" stays true to their original sound, with tracks like "Under Cover of Darkness" "Taken for a Fool" and album closer "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight". However the group throws in some curve balls to their sound, like "Games" (which is not one of my favorites) takes on a 80's Pop vibe at points, where as "Two Kinds of Happiness" is reminiscent of The Cars' new wave sound. And total stand out, "Machu Picchu" gives off a early Police vibe in the mixture of Rock and Reggae. This experimentation for the most part works, because they mainly stick to their own sound but just highlighted by these new tricks. And since the majority of the album is them sticking to their roots, it still feels like they are being themselves.
The album leaves you feeling like they delivered another good Strokes album that will fit nicely into their discography. That's mostly because of the fact that they didn't seem to feel the need to prove anything to any listeners. A lot of groups who haven't recorded together for over 4 years would probably feel pressure to make their "comeback" a Masterpiece album, The Strokes seemed to want to give their fans what they were used to. And you can't really fault them for that, it just feels like they wanted to gather more great songs for their upcoming tours, and if that was the purpose of the album they succeeded.

Rating: 3.5 of 5
Best: Machu Picchu, Metabolism, You're So Right

Album Review: Radiohead

Radiohead has been probably the most critically acclaimed contemporary Alterna-Rock group of the past decade, and with good reason. They are the kind of group that is popular because of their longevity, critical acclaim and sales but musically still feel like underground Indie groups with their always different and un-commercial sound. Their 8th album "The King of Limbs" is no exception, although at only 8 tracks it does feel like more of a side album, it's still pretty fantastic. The album still has that heavy Radiohead stamp, dream like instrumentation with Thom Yorke's mumble-y vocal performing style, though on "King of Limbs" everything is even more subdued. In the vain of Portishead or even at times early M83, they deliver songs that are mostly carried through the music alone, "Feral" a stand-out is actually only music and the majority of the albums highlights have more to do with the music as opposed to the lyrics or vocal stylings. Even with the heavy stuttering percussions, and electronic blips, nothing ever feels really aggressive which makes it work so well together. The group subtly go from electronica and drum & bass inspired tracks (album opener "Bloom"), to straight piano laden tracks ("Codex") and acoustic numbers ("Give Up The Ghost"), but the music and vibe of the album is so understated you hardly point out the differences. There's just an underlying calm and almost jazzy feel that is strung throughout the entire set. Which shows the group are musical geniuses, they don't have to go as far to prove anything to the listener. On this album they were able to venture into new musical terrain, but doing it at a very calm and peaceful way and the album works so well because of it.

Rating: 4 of 5
Best: "Lotus Flower", "Bloom", "Give Up The Ghost"

Mixtape Review: Frank Ocean

Apparently I've been missing out, Mixtapes seem to be more risky and adventurous than most major label LP's. Thanks to Pitchfork (and Beyonce news), I discovered Frank Ocean this weekend. Ocean is a part of the highly buzzed about Hip Hop outfit Odd Future, and on his Mixtape "Nostalgia, Ultra" he takes the R&B route albeit over very Rock and Alternative leaning tracks. On one interlude he talks about how women expect him to take the Jodeci route "what's a Radiohead anyway", still Ocean sticks to his musical guns and sings over tracks from Coldplay and The Eagles to surprisingly wonderful results. He also turns some very simplistic tracks into some very thought provoking and compelling songs. What sets him apart from Drake or Kid Cudi, the two acts you could closely compare his sound to, is he doesn't talk about the typical things in his songs. On the standout "We All Try" he calls out for the world to believe in something "I just don't believe we're wicked, I know that we sin, but I do believe we try".  "Lovecrimes" and "Songs for Women" are almost totally different than run of the mill radio R&B love songs. And the way he takes Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing" and MGMT's "Electric Feel" (for "Nature Feel") and totally transforms them into songs that become his own, just lyrically and vocally, is near amazing. His spin on The Eagles classic and iconic "Hotel California" ("American Wedding") does the same thing, and it's truly genius.
Lyrically, Frank Ocean is more than fresh and a much needed change from hearing the same stories in R&B and Hip Hop. Vocally he's on point as well, his voice does have traces of the aforementioned Kid Cudi but with much more confidence. At many points in the album, with his phrasing and his creative runs he takes on a bit of a Brandy vibe just slightly more masculine. Frank is a talent that apparently nearly got wasted, this mixtape was released by him accompanying a tumblr tirade against his label Def Jam who he feels didn't care about him as an artist. Hopefully the world will take note of his immense and unique talents and we'll be hearing more from him in the coming years, he truly deserves the fame that some lesser talents have.

Rating: 4 of 5
Best: We All Try, Nature Feel, American Wedding